Bucks big man Ersan Ilyasova admits that he was frustrated by being involved in trade talk around the deadline but he says that he still sees himself with Milwaukee in the long run, writes Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders. “When you go through a season like this and your name comes up [in rumors] it is a little frustrating,” Ilyasova said. “But I still feel myself as part of this franchise. I’m hopeful we can find the right pieces for the team so we can play much better because we really need it. I want to be part of a playoff team and that’s what I’m looking forward to, [the franchise] building a better team – a playoff team.”

One NBA scout told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) that Kansas’ Joel Embiid is the “only potential franchise player” in the 2014 draft. Meanwhile, Spears believes that Duke’s Jabari Parker will prove to be one as well.

If Phil Jackson hopes to emulate Pat Riley‘s success with the Heat, he must be an active and visible face of the Knicks organization, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.

There’s a long list of coaches who have moved on to the front office and they’ve had mixed results, write USA Today Sports’ Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick. Of course, Jackson hopes to follow the path of Riley, Danny Ainge, and Red Auerbach rather than the likes of Isiah Thomas.